"What do you want to discuss, Asher?" Duncan asked with his hands behind his back.
"This is a bit awkward, but...Before the 7th summoning began, Warden Rebecca and I had a small bet. Since our words are said to be worth as life crystals, I wanted Master Duncan to help us fulfill the conditions of the bet," Asher said with a respectful smile, though Rebecca's expression darkened, realizing what he was after!
In her shock, she had forgotten about the bet she had placed with him out of desperation to make him undergo the 7th summoning. But who knew he would actually survive the impossible and come back to haunt her?
The other women, especially Sabina, found it surprising that these two had a bet among themselves. And knowing Asher was not bad at betting, especially on himself, she inwardly chuckled, already knowing who lost.
If even she had lost to Asher before, who else could win against him?
Duncan pulled together his brows as he asked, "A bet? What kind of bet did you two place?"
Rebecca suddenly burst into laughter, "Haha, Asher, I didn't think you would take that bet seriously. It was merely just to give you motivation. Head Warden, you don't have to waste your precious time on this silly matter."
"Silly? With all due respect, I don't think transferring your position of Floor Warden to me is a silly matter," Asher said with a calm expression.
"Oh my...did she really bet on her position as a Floor Warden?" Naida softly mumbled with raised brows.
Esther furrowed her brows and gave a side glance at Rebecca as if even she found it surprising and utterly foolish that she did something like that.
Sabina also shook her head with a suppressed smile, wondering what in the world Rebecca was thinking.
Silvia softly mumbled to herself with a pout, "She should really know better than to bet against someone with full of tricks."
Rebecca's face reddened upon feeling the side glances of the four standing beside her. She couldn't believe she was losing face because of this brat.
Duncan's eyes narrowed as he looked at Rebecca and asked, "Warden Rebecca, did you really promise this boy to give up your position to him if he survived the 7th summoning?"
Rebecca's expression became taut upon feeling that the Head Warden seemed to be pissed off. She immediately shook her head and said, "Head Warden, as I said, it was only a joke. I didn't mean it to be taken seriously."
Rebecca felt that even if she placed the bet, would anybody seriously consider making a boy the Floor Warden of the 1st floor. No way at all!
[ I want you to resign as the Floor Warden and instead give me that position...if I succeed, of course. ]
[ "Fine...I accept. It will be a pity if I don't get to see a genius like you surviving the 7th summoning. ]
The voices of Asher and Rebecca suddenly played out from a small blue crystal that was on Asher's right palm. This was simply a crystal that stored spoken agreements just in case the other conveniently "forgot" about it. Most people used this, especially nobles, though none of them really used it since it was considered shameful if they had to use the crystal to prove they weren't lying. This was why once a spoken agreement was made there was a high chance they wouldn't break it.
"Maybe, Warden Rebecca did mean it as a joke, but she clearly didn't mention it, nor did I take it as a joke as well. I actually don't want to ask, but...Warden, was I mistaken to value your words?" Asher asked with a guileless expression as if he really wanted to know if he was mistaken.
But a vein popped up on Rebecca's temple, knowing that he was questioning the worth of her words before everyone else, especially the Head Warden.
As the Princess Consort and a member of one of the Great Houses, she can't let anybody think that her words have no worth. It would be utterly disgraceful if people thought that.
But at the same time, how could she really give up her position as the Floor Warden? She even had to try hard to get the 1st-floor position to pick out geniuses early and bring them under her fold.
If she loses this position, she will no longer be able to gain new vassals, at least not the talented ones. She would also lose a lot of prestige and power by no longer being able to work in the Tower of Hell.
She couldn't believe she had put herself in such a frustrating situation where there was no way out without losing something that mattered to her.
But in her desperation, she decided to not give up that easily and said, "Of course, my word does hold value. But we all know that practically it isn't possible to give up my position. One has to be qualified to take up the position of a Floor Warden," She then looked at the Head Warden and added, "I know Asher is talented, but he is still too young and inexperienced to take up the position of one. He only woke up a month ago. That is why I never considered it seriously or expected Asher to not understand that he is still a junior," She finished with a condescending side glance towards Asher.
Esther and Naida also felt it was absurd to make a young boy the Floor Warden of a floor. It didn't matter if he had an Immortal bloodline if he didn't have enough experience to help more demons pass the first trial. An inexperienced Warden would never be able to bring out the hidden potential in demons who could have potentially survived the first trial.
Sabina also knew the same thing, but she felt that this charming guy was up to something. Silvia seemed to not care either way. All she wanted was some alone time with him.
"I think we already know I am more than qualified to be the Floor Warden of the 1st floor. I survived all 7 summonings. Isn't that the main criteria that is considered for someone to become a Warden of a floor? As for my experience, nobody has seen how well I can do as a Warden. So why don't we see for a week whether I will have more challengers surviving under my watch compared to Warden Rebecca's," Asher suggested with a faint confident smile, making the others feel surprised by his words and made him wonder what was making him so confident he can train the challengers better than someone with centuries of experience.
Rebecca clenched her jaw, unable to believe he was looking down on her experience too. She felt like pulling out his tongue already.
Asher knew that even if these vampires were centuries old, it didn't really mean their experience and knowledge about mana would necessarily increase. These beings, who had way higher life spans than a human, actually led their lives at a relaxed pace comparatively, while humans had to rush everything to achieve their dreams in their shorter lifespan, just like he did in his previous life.
If an average human reached level 5 at the age of 25, then among demons with a higher life span, the average age would be close to 100 or so for someone reaching level 5.
Those with higher life spans had the luxury to take things at a slower pace without having no need to rush through things. This mentality had been ingrained in them since the time of their ancestors. This was what Asher realized during his time here as a demon.
This was also why Merina casually suggested him to delay going to the tower by a couple of years. A couple of years would be nothing but a short period for these guys.
However, in his previous life, he had tried to learn and master everything he could without wasting a single day. That was how he quickly rose up the ranks to be the strongest.
He had fought so many battles and experienced tribulations in his 25 years of human life that he had accumulated enough experience on what was best and what was not.
Duncan briefly closed his eyes and looked at Rebecca, "Before we take any decision, you have to understand that the position of a Floor Warden isn't meant to be used in a bet, even as a joke. I didn't expect you to show disrespect to that title, Rebecca. This is a sacred place where our ancestors have bled and survived for years to prove themselves worthy to our dark gods. We wouldn't be here if not for the Floor Wardens of those eras who guided them. So you have not only let me down, but you let your ancestors down by treating this title as a joke."
Duncan's firm rebuke made Rebecca lower her gaze, her eyes shivering. She had never been rebuked by the Head Warden, and to get rebuked before the other wardens made her skin tighten.
She couldn't believe she had to endure all this because that despicable boy had put forward such a bet.
She also couldn't refute him since the Head Warden was her senior, and in the tower, his authority was above everyone else's.
Asher inwardly smiled, feeling satisfied by how Rebecca was cowering before Duncan like a frightened little girl.
"Please don't blame Warden Rebecca, Master Duncan. It is my fault that I came up with such a bet. I should have known that the title of a Floor Warden wasn't meant to be taken lightly," Asher said in an apologetic tone.
Duncan shook his head and said in an appreciative tone, "It's fine, Asher. You only woke up a month ago. So it's only natural you have yet to learn our ways and our history completely. But it's good to see that you realized your wrongs right away," He then looked at Rebecca and said, "This is something you should learn from this boy, Rebecca."
Rebecca couldn't believe this brat used this situation to make himself look good and bring her down by a notch once more.
He had only met the Head Warden today, and he was already gaining his favor. She realized she severely underestimated how troublesome he could be.
"But...I do understand the point you made, Warden Rebecca. I also understand that we have yet to see how capable Asher is when it comes to being a Warden. So...Asher, I will grant you a week's time and let you be the shadow Floor Warden of the 1st floor. Prove yourself, and the position will be permanently yours," Duncan said, making Asher subtly smile with a nod while Rebecca's facial muscles were uncontrollably tremoring, unable to accept that this was really happening.
